Brackenridge Park area, how is it???? (San Antonio, San Marcos: apartments, rentals, homes)

[laina1980]

Hello everyone,
I am needing to find a place to live around downtown area as my kids will be going to a specific school and have very limited familiarity to SA. Have been to the school and notice it is by downtown and saw a few neighborhoods around there. I have found a few places apartment wise that are within a 10 minute drive there. One, on the lower end of price, is right by Brackenrdge Park. Since it is a pretty decent price considering most apartments I have seen in downtown area seem pricey, I was wondering:

1. Is it safe? And if sketchy how sketchy is it? I have noticed sometimes one can call a area sketchy and it is not that bad.

2. Is it busy? Traffic? I would ideally like to not be in a congested area but consider this is a city, I know is a stretch to ask for. Just wondering

The other place is a little more pricey and is in Olmos(prob said it wrong) Park. It is same distance and on same side of highway as school(other is not) which I like. Our price range is max $1200 month but would like to stay in $1000 and under range. Please any input would be appreciated I have like 2-3 weeks to find a place and am not there. Also any other areas or apartments anyone knows in that area would be appreciated. Would like family type place in less congested area. Thank you.

[ashbeeigh]

It's a good area. From my understanding it's a bit more young and hip than family oriented with a lot of younger suingle professionals, but with a few families here and there. The public schools could be better, but if you want your kids at a school in that area you'll be fine. Olmos (pronounced like almost with the T) is about the same as the Brackenridge area buit with a few more families.

[KM1174]

decent area, minimal crime, not very sketchy at all (the sketchy places have been closing / getting raided by the police and then closing shortly after), can be congested at times but no worse than other comparable neighborhoods.

price is pretty darn good in that area. there is another in that area that is man-something park that has comparable housing and comparable pricing. not a bad area for single/couples with no kids/few kids. i have not seen many families in the area, seems to be more couples and singles than anything else.

[Sally_Sparrow]

Originally Posted by KM1174

decent area, minimal crime, not very sketchy at all (the sketchy places have been closing / getting raided by the police and then closing shortly after), can be congested at times but no worse than other comparable neighborhoods.

price is pretty darn good in that area. there is another in that area that is man-something park that has comparable housing and comparable pricing. not a bad area for single/couples with no kids/few kids. i have not seen many families in the area, seems to be more couples and singles than anything else.

LOL, Mahncke Park. Don't feel bad, I ALWAYS have to Google it.

Mahncke Park Neighborhood Association

I have friends who live there (with kids) and I have lived there too (with kids).. it was nice and parts of it are affordable still.

I live near Olmos park and if you stay out of the part that is in Alamo Heights School district (Olmos park proper) and get right on the outskirts (maybe that is Olmos Park terrace??) it's affordable as well. I see a mix of kids and singles around there.

I am in Monte Vista but in an affordable rental -- not many kids though. There is a private school near me (pricey) but other than that I don't see many kids, mostly singles or couples walking dogs.

[laina1980]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

It's a good area. From my understanding it's a bit more young and hip than family oriented with a lot of younger suingle professionals, but with a few families here and there. The public schools could be better, but if you want your kids at a school in that area you'll be fine. Olmos (pronounced like almost with the T) is about the same as the Brackenridge area buit with a few more families.

Thanks so much for info! Glad to know is decent area. My kids are already gonna be enrolled in a charter school so it won't matter if they are zoned for the local schools. I just don't wanna be very far from it and commute far since I don't work right now and my husband works outside of SA we can live by school.

I like for myself the idea of living in hip area, lol, but would be nice for kids to be around other kids in neighborhood. But I am seeing this is not a very common thing in SA neighborhoods much, is this correct?

[laina1980]

Originally Posted by KM1174

decent area, minimal crime, not very sketchy at all (the sketchy places have been closing / getting raided by the police and then closing shortly after), can be congested at times but no worse than other comparable neighborhoods.

price is pretty darn good in that area. there is another in that area that is man-something park that has comparable housing and comparable pricing. not a bad area for single/couples with no kids/few kids. i have not seen many families in the area, seems to be more couples and singles than anything else.

Thanks! Do you know of any apartments in that area of Mn something park?

[laina1980]

Originally Posted by Sally_Sparrow

LOL, Mahncke Park. Don't feel bad, I ALWAYS have to Google it.

Mahncke Park Neighborhood Association

I have friends who live there (with kids) and I have lived there too (with kids).. it was nice and parts of it are affordable still.

I live near Olmos park and if you stay out of the part that is in Alamo Heights School district (Olmos park proper) and get right on the outskirts (maybe that is Olmos Park terrace??) it's affordable as well. I see a mix of kids and singles around there.

I am in Monte Vista but in an affordable rental -- not many kids though. There is a private school near me (pricey) but other than that I don't see many kids, mostly singles or couples walking dogs.

Sally, I remember you said you lived in Monte Vista and was gonna PM you. Do you know of any apartments? All I saw on line were very nice older homes as rentals but very pricey.

[TXEX06]

Originally Posted by laina1980

I like for myself the idea of living in hip area, lol, but would be nice for kids to be around other kids in neighborhood. But I am seeing this is not a very common thing in SA neighborhoods much, is this correct?

Plenty of kids living in the area. You would be next do the San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio Botanical Gardens, Witte Museum, Japanese Tea Garden, of course Brackenridge Park, and the future home of the San Antonio Children's Museum.

[Sally_Sparrow]

Originally Posted by laina1980

Sally, I remember you said you lived in Monte Vista and was gonna PM you. Do you know of any apartments? All I saw on line were very nice older homes as rentals but very pricey.

I found my apartment via Craigslist. I would search for the zip (78212) or use the phrase"monte vista". We are moving out of our place by the end of August so PM me if you want details. We're moving to San Marcos!

There are other places nearby that are large old stucco buildings but were originally built as apartments, they are nice and well kept but they seem to mainly advertise via signs out front. I could get a few phone numbers for you if you would like, next time I am out. I can't remember what size place you need, did you say? I know most of those near me are 1 or 2 bedrooms and I am pretty sure they didn't allow dogs which is why we passed them over when we were looking and found this place (which does allow dogs and cats both).

The French Place apartments are close and they are pretty, I have heard good things, but they are kind of pricey:

Prices for French Place Apartments in San Antonio TX | San Antonio Apartments for Rent

There are apartments just outside Olmos park, near the HEB I go to, that I checked into before.. reviews were so so but I thought the floorplans were interesting and they were reasonably priced, they are called New England Village and I actually started a thread asking about them when I was considering moving there:

//www.city-data.com/forum/san-a...k-terrace.html

They have 3 bedrooms in the $960 range. I know they have a website but I couldn't find it, but if you google New England Village San Antonio you can get their phone number and on YouTube there are some video tours showing the apartments inside.

Originally Posted by TXEX06

Plenty of kids living in the area. You would be next do the San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio Botanical Gardens, Witte Museum, Japanese Tea Garden, of course Brackenridge Park, and the future home of the San Antonio Children's Museum.

Yeah, if your kids are younger you might want to try and stay over in that area just because there are more things to do that are close by, like the things mentioned, but even if you were "over here" near Trinity University, or Olmos, or Monte Vista, or even Alta Vista (neighborhood across San Pedro, cheaper) it's still all very close by car or even by bike. I have friends in the area closer to Brackenridge (Mahncke park is close to Brackenridge) and they don't think anything of biking over here to Monte Vista and places on San Pedro (San Pedro park, San Antonio College, The Cove, etc). It's a short trip and no highway necessary.

[laina1980]

Thanks Sally for all your help!!

I will def check out those places. I will be going there next week to look in person and hopefully sign a lease as I do need the residence proof ASAP. Glad to see you will be headed to San Marcos soon will be nice change and closer to your school.

Am also glad to know that both areas mentioned is easy access and no highways as school is by San Pedro and I would like to avoid highways altogether as they stress me out. Is why I don't wanna live outside that whole area would like to go by side streets between school and home.